Fine cigars are made of natural leaf tobacco throughout. Unfortunately, high quality leaf tobaccos are very delicate, and their favor can be preserved, only by maintaining control over the moisture content of the cigar. If the moisture content is too low, the cigar will dry out, burn too rapidly, and will taste hot and unpleasant.
In a tobacco shop, cigars are stored in humidors or special showcases in which the moisture content is controlled. However, once a cigar is removed from the humidor or showcase, it will experience significant moisture loss in a very short time.
In an effort to preserve cigar freshness, manufacturers have sealed them in individual cigar tubes. This, however, proves very expensive and is, at best, a compromise solution. Since it is not normally economical to provide a tightly sealed environment for individual cigars, a certain amount of drying will occur between the time the cigar is stored in its tube and the time it is delivered to the tobacco shop. At the tobacco shop, the cigar could be restored to its optimum condition in a relatively short time by being stored in a humidor. However, the sealed environment of the cigar tube prevents this from taking place, and the cigar must be sold to the ultimate customer in a less than optimum condition.
Ideally, cigars should be sealed at the manufacturers plant in bulk quantities, such as a cigar box full at time. When the sealed box is received by the tobacconist, the seal may be broken, and the entire box of cigars stored in the humidor, to restore the cigars to their optimum condition. Ideally, a cigar need not be placed in a sealed container again until it is removed from the humidor for sale to a customer.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a storage and transporting container for individual cigars which can be placed in an unsealed condition while the cigars are in a humidor, yet may readily be operated to seal the cigar in the container, once it has been removed from the humidor.
It also an object of the present invention to provide a cigar storage and transportation container which is reliable, convenient and efficient in use, yet relatively inexpensive in construction.
In accordance with the present invention, a cigar storage and transporting container comprises inner and outer tubular components which are telescoped one within the other. A sealed container is achieved by closing the tubular members at opposite ends, and the interior of the container may be accessed by pulling the tubular members apart. In its side wall, each tubular member includes an opening, and the opening on the tubular members are positioned so that, upon relative rotation of the tubular members, the openings can be brought into varying degrees of alignment. With the openings fully aligned, communication is provided between the interior and exterior of the container, so that a cigar stored therein may readily be exposed to the regulated environment of the humidor. With the openings fully out of alignment, an effective seal is provided between the interior and exterior of the container, thereby preserving the freshness of the cigar while it is carried about.